Snapshots of the Past

Visit the zoo - Philadelphia – Historic Reproduction

Visit the zoo - Philadelphia, 1936 — vintage poster
Visit the zoo - Philadelphia, 1936. Vintage poster from the Animals collection.

(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

Step back in time with Visit the zoo - Philadelphia, a vintage poster rich in period detail. Sourced directly from the Library of Congress, it represents an authentic piece of documented history.

Choose the framed print, ready to hang the day it arrives, or the unframed print for a frame of your own. A conversation-starting piece for home, office, or as a meaningful gift. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Snapshots of the Past has been bringing history to the wall since 2001, for tens of thousands of customers worldwide.

Visit the zoo - Philadelphia

Order a print

Secure checkout · SSL encryptedPowered by Stripe and PayPal

Free shipping in the lower 48 states. The checkout page shows the picture, size and price before you pay.

Sign up for our newsletter

Sent securely. No purchase needed. Unsubscribe anytime.

Ask about licensing or this print

Hippopotamuses are the detail that sets this poster apart, since the zoo visit is shown through one of its large resident animals. The print dates to 1936 and was made as a woodblock color poster under the Work Projects Administration, whose arts programs used bold, inexpensive posters to promote events across the country during the Depression. Its sponsor is listed as the Federal theater Project, one of those WPA arts programs. The Philadelphia Zoo, which opened in 1874, was among the earliest zoos in the United States, and the poster shows how WPA artists turned a simple outing into a graphic invitation.

Created / published1936
Medium1 print on board (poster) : woodblock color.
NotesWork Projects Administration Poster Collection (Library of Congress). · Hopwood Avery 1882-1928. Federal Theatre Project (U.S.) sponsor.
SubjectsHippopotamuses--1930-1950. Zoos--Pennsylvania--Philadelphia--1930-1950.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Work Projects Administration Poster Collection
Original scan3,297 × 4,096 px · prints to 11 × 14 in at 300 dpi
Reference671_Visit_the_zoo_Philadel_1936

More from the Animals collection

Snapshots of the Past helps heritage brands, museums, historians and storytellers tell stories with history: historic prints, image licensing and historical storytelling drawn from more than 25 years of research and curation.